The MHT Scholorship Fund at the Florence McDonnell Center

Every life has some special moments that are memorable.  Death comes to us all, makes lasting impressions, and leaves legacies in our minds and hearts. Unique people we want to honor flow into our lives and we want to tell them in some caring way what they mean to us.  Events that change the lives of our loved ones are always taking place, and we want to place a “bookmark” there to remember the occasion. The most lasting way to do this is to choose a gift that continues to live on in the life of another person. The Florence McDonnell Center offers a way to express a variety of sentiments and feelings.  It is The MHT Scholarship Fund (Memorial, Honor, Thanksgiving).  This fund remembers, honors, or expresses your gratitude for someone or some event, while at the same time helping those in the community who need the services of the Center.

M. (Memorial)

 

In each of our lives there are those unique and particular people who have given so much to us that there is no way for us to return the love, the nurture, or the enriching lives they have shared with us.  When death comes, there is a void and a genuine yearning to do something in memory of our loved one.  The fulfillment of this desire to remember the deceased becomes even more satisfying if we can give something that will continue to influence the lives of others and our larger world.  The most effective way to remember a loved one is to pass on something that is an expression of their love, presence and care, a gift that lives daily in the lives of those who benefit from the gift.

H. (Honor)

 

There are those who are living whom we may wish to honor while they are still with us, someone who has made a significant contribution to our lives.  We wish them to know how important they have been to us and how essential they still are. We wish to honor their being a “living legacy” in our lives.

 

T. (Thanksgiving)

 

A wedding takes place, a child is born, a baptism or confirmation are celebrated, a bar mitzvah is marked, the recovery from an illness is made, a graduation or a promotion feted.  Events take place in our lives for which we are grateful and want to share our thanksgiving.  We want to assign an expression of that gratitude that will live on in the lives of others.  
 

How Does the MHT Scholarship work?

 

The Center wishes to turn away no one.  When someone comes to us needing counseling, psychotherapy, or spiritual direction and cannot afford the full fee, the Center offers a sliding fee scale that helps. But there are times when additional resources are needed.  The scholarship fund is available. Some of the gifts you make possible are then shared with the client. Depending on which text you choose for the card given to the client, your name or the name of the one you are honoring can be known or the scholarship can be anonymous. The client’s name is always held in confidence. Confidentiality is carefully guarded and boundaries are always honored.

 

To give the gift of counseling or spiritual direction is a gift that is fluid, living, and immeasurable.  These gifts impact people’s lives in ways that live with them forever.  The good done in the name of your loved one lives on for generations. As one in spiritual direction at the Center has written: “There is a sacred element in the exchange and that is what makes the difference.  I have felt the holy so powerfully it is like unleashed electricity filling the room, and I have felt it so gently it is like the memory of a soft touch.  This changes people….” She says further that to give the gift of counseling or spiritual direction is to give the “gift of possibility.” (Quotes used with her permission). 

 

There are two forms of the MHT Scholarship Fund.

 

The Direct Use Named Gift.  These are contributed monies from a minimum of $500 to $9,999 that are placed in the scholarship and are used for the immediate needs of the recipients.

 

The Endowed Named Gifts.  These are contributions of $10,000 and above that are invested, and the interest after a year is placed in the Direct Use Scholarship Fund for the recipients.

 

Once a contribution is made a fund is established in the name of the one you wish to remember. A gift of $500-$9,999 goes into the Direct Use Named Gift Fund.  An amount above $10,000 is placed in the Endowed Named Gift Fund.  A card is printed carrying the name of the one you wish to remember, for example, The Jane Doe Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Or, In Celebration of the Baptism of John Doe. A brief message to the recipient identifies the one being honored or remembered by those giving the scholarship.  If desired, complete anonymity can also be maintained, with no names used.  These details are agreed upon with the one giving the gift in clearly written instructions to the funds that are chosen. The Center is a 501(c)(3) organization so all contributions are tax deductible. Ninety-five percent of the contribution goes to the scholarships.  Five percent is used by the Center for printing the cards, and servicing and maintaining the records of the funds.  A yearly audit of all funds is done at the Center.

 
 

SAMPLES OF TEXTS

 

When a gift is given, the donor will be asked to choose a text for a card that will be given to the client who receives the scholarship.  Anonymous texts can be used, or the name of the person can be used and/or the person giving the gift. Following are some samples of the ways the cards may read. There is a limit of 120 words for any card. These texts can be tailored to each donor’s specific requests, with the approval of the MHT committee.   All 4”x6” cards are printed on quality card stock with matching envelopes